Republicans in the US Senate have said they will spare the US-backed HIV/Aids programme Pepfar from cuts, amid a larger effort to reduce government spending. Senators said they would end a plan to cut $400m (£300m) from the President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief programme, leaving total proposed cuts at $9bn.

The Senate voted 51 to 48 to claw back about $9 billion in federal funding that lawmakers had approved for foreign aid and public broadcasting. The so-called rescissions were made at the request of the White House, which has sought to codify spending cuts put forward by Elon Musk’s cost-cutting effort, the Department of Government Efficiency.

The proposed cuts have caused concerns among some Senate Republicans, including Utah Sen. John Curtis, who may consider removing that provision from the final package.